In a recent article published in MobiHealthNews, healthcare technology investor Skip Fleshman divulged on the top five digital health trends to watch out for in 2017. Fleshman believes that health digitization and value-based care will continue on an upward trend, leaving ample opportunities open for investors.

The sector has already shown much promise in years past. According to Rock Health, venture funding for digital health companies topped $4.2 billion in 2016 alone. Moving forward, Fleshman believes that a new wave of technology will bring forth exciting innovations in the following areas.

Digital Interventions

Healthcare apps are a hot ticket item right now. Apps that can monitor sleep, eating habits, exercise, and even glucose levels have seen a huge boon in popularity. As such, digital healthcare companies are constantly looking for ways to expand those capabilities. A few healthcare app companies to keep an eye out on include Omada Health, WellDoc, and Propeller Health.

Provider Workflow Solutions (AKA Healthcare Scalability Solutions)

According to a study conducted by the American Medical Association, doctors spend twice the amount of time inputting data into electronic medical records than they do seeing patients. As doctors begin looking for ways to cut down on time spent on paperwork, they’ll turn to companies that specialize in workflow solutions, such as HealthTap, Augmedix, and WelkinHealth.

Data Integration and Analytics

The healthcare industry has seen a huge surge in demand for data integration and analytics. As a result, investors are taking a keen interest in companies that aggregate and integrate these datasets into other applications, such as Human API and Validic.

Behavioral Health

As it turns out, research has shown that behavioral health issues are often related to other illnesses, making providers more willing to cover it. As such, providers are starting to turn to companies like Lyra Health, Pear Therapeutics, and Lantern to tackle common behavioral health issues such as depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and PTSD through the use of digital technology.

New Model Insurance Companies

Surprisingly enough, startup insurance companies such as Oscar ($720 million), Collective Health ($125 million), and Clover ($295 million), are gaining a lot of traction with investors right now. That’s because they offer competitive advantages that bigger insurance companies don’t have. For example, since smaller insurance companies aren’t hindered by existing infrastructure and relationships, they’re more adept at building stronger relationships with provider networks. Additionally, these companies often use technology as the basis of their platform, making them more effective at targeting specific patient groups through the use of digital health data.

To read more about the top five digital health trends for 2017, visit MobiHealthNews.